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DECEMBER 2017 15 Cavalier Corner: What would you say has been your most trying experience as an administrator and how did that experience prepare you for this role? Williams: "There have been several. What comes to mind, and a lot of people don't realize this, is that in my time here at Georgia there have been three student- athletes that have been paralyzed. "A baseball player was injured in a scooter accident. We had a baseball player injured in a collision in the outfield. We had a visiting student-athlete who was injured on a kickoff return at Sanford Stadium. "You could probably go an entire career as an administrator and maybe never have something like that happen to a student- athlete, but we've experienced that three times at Georgia in the last few years. "This reminds me that the student-athletes that we serve and work with every day are people first, and it really puts everything into perspective. My frame of reference for what I do as an administrator is to try to put people first and make sure we are providing well- rounded, positive, impactful experiences for student-athletes and the people we serve." Cavalier Corner: What makes a great head coach? Williams: "I think it's given that they are excellent at X's and O's. Then what be- comes the difference between a great coach and one that isn't is intangibles. "What I've seen in coaches that are great are they can relate well to people, whether that's motivating their current student- athletes or inspiring prospective student- athletes to come and compete for them, or getting staff or assistants to follow them. "The relationship with people becomes really important once it is established that someone is great and highly competent at their job. I think the ability to relate to peo- ple is a separator." Cavalier Corner: If you could go back and tell student-athlete Carla Williams one thing — what would it be? Williams: "That's a hard question to answer because I learn from mistakes as well as successes. If you get rid of the fail- ures you don't necessarily grow. I probably would say, work a little bit harder in the gym, even though I worked hard. "You want the experience at the highest level, and you're always looking back after a game; what could I have done better? After practice, what could I have done bet- ter? After the offseason, what could I have worked on more? "It's something that I think all coaches and athletes who are competitive require of themselves." Cavalier Corner: Looking down the road five to 10 years, where do you see the most significant opportunity or need for change in the NCAA? Williams: "I guess my perspective may be a little bit different, but I see the NCAA as us. It's an organization that's made up of its membership, and that's us. "My hope is that places like the Univer- sity of Virginia will continue to pursue the mission of intercollegiate athletes, which is to provide sports participation opportunities through higher education. "The education part of it is key. It is the rea- son we are here. One of the things that really impresses me with UVA is that everyone that I've spoken to whether it's coaches or donors or supporters or fans or alums, there is a com- mitment to the total student-athlete. There's a commitment to student-athlete development, to student-athlete experience, to academic achievement in addition to excelling in sports. "I hope that that will be at the forefront of the membership in all the coming years, because it certainly will be at Virginia." Cavalier Corner: Upon your appointment, The New York Daily News called you "the most important leader in college athletics." What are your thoughts on that description? Williams: "I think throughout the last month or so I've probably approached this just like a coach would with student-athletes. I've tried not to read all the press clippings. "I've read some of them, and it is some- thing that I do appreciate and I do under- stand the historical nature of all of this. But for me, I feel like I need to continue to do what I've done to get here. "As long as I do that, to focus on athletic achievement and academic excellence, in- tegrity, caring about people, caring about student-athletes, understanding our role in higher education, making sure that our staff and student-athletes are part of the university community, a part of the larger community, then I think everything else will work out fine. "I don't spend a whole lot of time think- ing about what that means for me. I just try to focus on continuing to do what I've done to get here." Cavalier Corner: When your time ends at Virginia what would you like your legacy to be? Williams: "As far as I'll let my mind go, I guess, is I want to live a life that is honorable. I want to honor God in what I do. I want to be a good mom, a good wife and I want to be the absolute best that I can be at my job. "Probably in that order." "My frame of reference for what I do as an administrator is to try to put people first and make sure we are providing well-rounded, positive, impactful experiences for student- athletes and the people we serve." WILLIAMS